like the droid 4 now just $99.99. verizon. good morning. the signs were there. the brother of the alleged gunman in a shooting spree in seattle says he's not surprised it happened. five people were killed in two separate incidents before the shooter turned the gun on himself. this morning police say he later died. white house return. former president george w. bush makes his firstrip back to the white house in more than two years today. he will be welcomed by a president who spent the past four years criticizing his record. and sitting in a bar in minnesota when a truck crashes through the wall. six people were injured, but incredibly no one was killed. the bartender who walked away will share his harrowing story in a live interview today,

thursday, may 31st, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry. >> and i'm matt lauer. that story out of seattle is terrible. and now the suspect in those deadly shootings has been identified as 40-year-old ian stewicky. >> the first shooting happened inside a cafe was the gunman was captured on cameras. four were killed there. police say he killed another woman as he carjacked her suv and later shot himself when he was approached by officers. this morning his family says he was filled with anger, and there were warning signs. we'll have more coming up. also ahead on a lighter note, should this container of soda or this one be illegal? well, according to a proposal from the mayor of new york city,

any soda or sugary drink that comes in a container larger than this one here, which is 16 ounces, would be banned. you wouldn't be able to buy, for example, this monster right here. this is all because of the obesity epidemic. it would involve energy drinks, some iced coffees and teas as well. and this proposal could become law as early as next march if it goes through. we're going to find out how "today's professionals" feel about that subject and some others as well. >> there's going to be a lot on their hands if they do this. and also, we're talking about the 6-year-old girl who stepped into the spotlight as the youngest person to ever compete in the national spelling bee. a lot of people were rooting for her. we'll tell you how she did coming up. and a new breakthrough for the georgia college student fighting that rare flesh-eating bacteria. she's now talking for the first time in weeks. an exclusive interview with her family. the latest on that deadly shooting rampage in seattle.

our mike taibbi is there. he joins us now. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. the cafe behind me, this one near the university of washington, very comfortable place to listen to music and to read where most of the customers are regulars who come to know each other. in just a few minutes' time yesterday, it became the scene of an historic outrage. it began at 11:00 in the morning. a man police would identify as 40-year-old ian stewicky was seen by a surveillance camera inside the cafe racer in north seattle. regular customers say stewicky had been told he was no longer welcome there because of recent disruptive behavior. >> i said, you're 86'ed. you can't be here. would you like a coffee to go? and he was nice, courteous, said "no, thank you," walked through the door, then turned and started shooting. >> reporter: minutes later, a gun showing in this photo and the chairs scattered around him, five people had been shot. four dead or dying. and the last wounded.

when word spread quickly that the suspect had fled, nearby schools locked their doors, the neighborhood on tense alert. >> we're telling neighbors in the area, keep your doors locked, windows looked. >> reporter: but a half hour later, there was another shooting downtown where police say man shot and killed a woman while carjacking her suv in a parking lot outside city hall. a bystander tried cpr on the woman to no avail. >> you have to do something. you have to get out of the car and do something. >> reporter: two shooting scenes. and the police have flooded the city. they found the stolen suv, a handgun visible on the front seat, and then two detectives saw a man on foot who matched the photo from the coffee shop. >> the suspect saw the officers coming. the suspect then placed a firearm that he was holding to his head and fired one round. >> reporter: stewicky now seen as the lone gunman was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. the day's rampage further rattling a city already reeling from an accelerating spate of gun violence. in the past month, random

gunfire had cost the life of a young student walking home with her boyfriend. and a father of two driving home from the airport. police estimate the memorial day weekend was punctuated by as many as 60 rounds of gunfire. >> multiple tragic episodes of gun violence that have occurred throughout the city. >> reporter: and now this, a ram paj that brought the city's murder count to 21 already in 2012, the total for all of last year. almost all of this year's mayhem at the point of a gun. >> this is the number one public health issue we have right now, and it's only going to get worse. >> reporter: stewicky's brother was quoted as saying there was no surprise that his brother had been seething in anger. the fifth victim, the only one to survive, is expected to recover. ann? >> mike taibbi this morning, thank you so much. let's get a check of the other top stories. natalie's on assignment. savannah guthrie is over at the news desk.

good morning to you. >> good morning. and in the news today, two u.s. citizens have been kidnapped this morning in egypt by bedouin tribesmen. the armed suspects are believed to have taken the american tourists hostage near dahab. they're demanding the release of a relative in local police custody there. in syria, there is renewed shelling on houla where a weekend massacre killed more than 100 people. this as both the government and the opposition forces call for u.n. special envoy kofi annan to recognize that his cease-fire plan has failed. the remnants of tropical storm beryl left destruction along the north carolina coast, damaging dozens of homes and destroying several altogether. a confirmed tornado with winds reaching 110 miles an hour was blamed for much of that damage. a new look today at the man who police say confessed to killing etan patz. new york police released this new photograph of hernandez after his arrest last

week. the 51-year-old is charged with second-degree murder. investigators say he told police he killed 6-year-old patz back in 1979. some frightening moments on the tarmac at chicago o'hare airport. a large cargo plane's tail clipped the wing of an american eagle regional jet. as you see there, both planes were on the ground when they made contact. no one was injured. now let's get to wall street. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning, savannah. it has been a negative month for u.s. and global stocks as the s&p 500 index has lost 6% for the month of may. we're getting lots of jobs data today. and that serves as a warm-up for the all-important payrolls number today. we are hoping for mob jobs created in may as opposed to the 115,000 we saw in april. also, oil prices are now at their lowest since october of last year. and gasoline is also getting cheaper. you now pay less than both a month ago and a year ago with

the national average of $3.62 per gallon. and a quick update on facebook, it's now sitting at its lowest since the ipo. it started at $38, now sitting at $28.19 as of the close for yesterday. back to you. >> mandy drury, thank you. in illinois, a state lawmaker has apparently had enough of the way things work in the state legislature. republican representative mike bach lost his cool over a bill that came to the house floor before lawmakers could even read it. >> not the american way! these [ bleep ] bills [ bleep ] all the time! come out here at the last second! and i've got to try to figure out how to vote for my people! >> well, the state assembly is due to adjourn for the summer on thursday. and in an afternoon at the local bar turns into a nightmare after a truck slammed into the building in minnesota, pinning patrons in the debris. two people were seriously injured. no one was killed. the driver of that truck reportedly has a medical

condition that caused the crash, but amid the chaos, the son of the bar's owner is being hailed as a hero today. he jumped into action, using a bobcat front-end loader he had in back to free four of the people who were pinned in that rubble. we're going to talk to him live coming up. it is now 7:09. back to matt, ann and al. it's amazing to watch that. no one was hurt. no one was killed, but there were some broken bones. >> we've seen videos like that before. that's about the most severe i've seen. >> you assume those folks who disappeared were killed. >> you think about that, six injuries, no one died. >> we've got severe weather to talk about stretching from texas all the way into the lower mississippi river valley. you've got warm, moist air coming up out of the gulf. cooler air being dragged down from canada. the clash of those air masses, you can already see showers and thunderstorms firing up from dallas all the way to chicago. rainfall amounts. we've got a risk of strong storms stretching from texas all the way on up into minnesota today with anywhere from one to

two inches of rain throughout parts of that region. >> good morning, it will be a pretty nice day to day with sunshine and a few clouds and the humidity will go down significantly. it will still be warm, that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. it would be an interesting scene at the white house today when president obama welcomes back his predecessor, george w. bush. this, a day after the president placed a phone call to mitt romney. chuck todd is nbc's chief white house correspondent and our political director. chuck, good morning to you. >> reporter: well, good morning. look, while the white house has been in near full campaign mode

for months, the president himself seemed to signal the dropping of the starting flag, thanks to that single phone call. >> thank you. >> reporter: with the stage set for his campaign against mitt romney, president obama placed a congratulatory call to his republican opponent shortly before this speech wednesday morning. the two exchanged pleasantries and good wishes, the longest conversation they've had in nearly eight years. >> the president discussed or mentioned how he looks forward to what he believes is a very important debate. >> reporter: for voters living in the critical battleground states, that debate began weeks ago. already the campaigns have spent a combined $85 million on tv ads, well on their way to breaking all-time spending records. >> i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. >> i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. >> reporter: the latest nbc news/marist polls show a race that is tightening in the six most important states. the president holds small leads in florida, ohio and virginia. the race is even closer in iowa, colorado and nevada where it's a

virtual tie. the obama campaign insists the election will be decided in these swing states, but the president's biggest challenge may be beyond his control. >> obviously, the world economy is still in a delicate place. because of what's going on in europe. >> reporter: meanwhile, mitt romney's challenge, defining his record on his terms. the obama campaign is already slamming romney's career at being capital and this week shifting to his record as massachusetts governor. >> there was great hope that governor romney could deliver. he didn't deliver. >> reporter: following his appearance with donald trump on tuesday, romney continued on the fund-raising circuit with another prominent ceo. hewlett-packard's meg whitman who just days ago announced plans to lay off 27,000 workers. while the romney campaign believes ultimately the economy will decide this election, they know he needs to present a softer side. so his campaign put out a video highlighting ann romney's struggle with multiple sclerosis, offering a rare personal glimpse into the romneys' 43-year marriage. >> probably the toughest time of my life was standing there with

ann as we hugged each other and the diagnosis came. >> i was frightened. mitt was frightened. but i needed him desperately. >> reporter: back to the files of politics makes strange bedfellows story we'll have today, the unveiling of president george w. bush's portrait hosted by the sitting president here, makes it a little awkward, president obama is still running against bush policies. he regularly cites them when going after mitt romney's record. i doubt we'll see any of that heated politics today, though. >> chuck todd at the white house this morning, chuck, thank you very much. david axelrod is a senior adviser for president obama's re-election campaign. david, good to see you. good morning. >> thanks, matt. good to see you, too. >> let's talk about some of these battleground states. there does seem to be a momentum shift in florida, the president was up by about five points. that's now seen as a dead heat. in ohio, he's up by five points, but that's down from 12 points just a couple of months ago. and take a look at wisconsin. once the lead there of about 17

points. it's down to about three or four. why the shift? >> well, first of all, they're called battleground states for a reason, matt. they are the closest states in the country. they're very closely divided politically. and what's happened is what we anticipated would happen. when there's a republican nominee, republicans and republican-leaning independents consolidate behind that nominee and we have the race we expected. the most interesting polling number i've seen in the last week is the one here in massachusetts where mitt romney is losing his home state by 25 points. i don't think that's -- i don't think anyone's lost her home state and won the presidency in 100 years. that does speak to sort of how people view him and his record here in this state. >> other people, though, are pointing to perhaps a lack of enthusiasm this time around for barack obama. he famously was of hope and change back in 2008. won by it with 53% of the vote. he was seen by his supporters as someone who might become a transformational political figure. now they're watching him, david,

out on the campaign trail, and they're listening to what he's saying, and they fear that he is beginning to sound like a typical politician. how do you respond? >> not at all, matt. the fact is that there is an -- as we've hinted in chuck's piece, there's a real debate. that's what the president said to governor romney yesterday. a really important debate to be had here, which is how do we rebuild this economy in such a way that the middle class is growing and not shrinking, that people who work hard have a chance to get ahead? he believes that's the sign of a strong economy, and there are things we have to do to promote it. governor romney believes if we just give another tax cut to the wealthy, that somehow it will turn out better than it did the last time. and that's just not the case. >> you know what i'm talking about, i'm talking about the negativity we're already hearing from the president on the campaign trail. you were interviewed in "new york" magazine written by john heilman. "for anyone still starry-eyed about obama, the months ahead will provide an bracing revelation about what he truly

is, not a savior, not a saint, but a brass-knuckled, pipe-hitting, red-in-tooth-and-claw brawler determined to do what is necessary to stay in power, in other words, a politician." how do you react to that? >> i don't think it's staying in power. i think what he's interested in doing is advancing an agenda that will move the country forward and give a real chance to the middle class, build an economy that will last, that's durable, that's based on education and research and development and innovation and those things that will be a strong foundation and not on the kinds of financial engineering that we saw in the last decade that led to disaster. so there's so much at stake in this election. and he feels strongly and passionately about it. he's going to fight for that. governor romney's been running around the country for a year and a half attacking the president relentlessly every day, misrepresenting his record and his own record. and we do have a responsibility to straighten that out. >> so in other words, they did it first, and you're firing back. >> no. i mean, i think people need to know what the facts are, the

facts of where we've been over the last three years, i think they do, and the facts of governor romney. he offers himself as an economic guru and savior off of his experience in business. and when he was governor of this state, this state was 47th in job creation. he created huge new debt here, debt went up 16%. incomes went down while the country -- around the country incomes were going up. his was a record of failure. i think that's -- "the boston globe" said it was one of the worst economic records in the country. and people need to know that because this is the sole basis on which he is running for president. >> i know that's what you'll be rying to communicate as you're there in boston today. david axelrod, thanks for your time this morning. >> good to be with you. thanks. 17 after the hour. here's ann. >> thanks. this morning a new report says fatal car crashes involving teenagers could be cut dramatically by changing the rules for licensing teen drivers. cnbc's phil lebeau is in detroit with this story. hey, phil, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. this is all about saving the

lives of teen drivers. as recently as 2010, 3,115 teens were killed in car crashes. a number some say could be much lower if states put more restrictions on licensing teenagers. in hemet, california, police are investigating an horrific accident. it left eight injured. the accident comes as a new report from the insurance institute for highway safety says first-time drivers need tougher rules and more experience. >> the longer parents wait for their teens to get the permit, the longer licensure is delayed, the lower of crash rate. >> reporter: the iihs says raising the age for a license from 16 or 17 would reduce fatal accidents by 13%. while not allowing teens to drive at night and banning them from giving rides to other teens could lower deadly car crashes

by at least 20%. >> teen passengers can be a real distraction to teen drivers, but i think they also can contribute to risky driving. >> reporter: when we gathered four teenagers in california and asked them how their friends drive, they were blunt. it's not all good. >> they do stupid things all the time. you know, they're just -- they're not the best drivers in the world, i guess you can say. >> a majority of the girls i know like to see a lot. >> none of us would like to see restrictions because we all think we're great drivers. when you get your mom and dad in the car and they're telling you to slow down, you kind of realize that, you know, i'm not a perfect driver. >> reporter: even though california has some of the strictest rules for teen drivers, 18-year-old mark admits he and others often ignore the laws, including the ban on texting and driving. >> my phone goes off all the time while i'm in the car. you know, i'll respond to the text. i'm telling my friend hey, i'm five minutes away. get ready for me. i think teens don't think before they act. >> reporter: that concern is there for mothers like melissa

gomez. she supports tougher laws because like all parents, she worries every time her son takes the wheel. >> love you. >> i was a nervous wreck when mark first got his license. he's my first son. i didn't know what to expect. i always tell him to be careful on the road. >> reporter: we should point out the percentage of fatal car accidents involving teen drivers has dropped about 40% since the late '90s when states started putting more restrictions on licensing teenagers. but ann, experts say more can and should be done to protect teen drivers. back to you. >> point taken. phil lebeau, thank you so much for your reporting on this. and coming up this morning, the scary video of a truck slamming into a crowded bar in minnesota. remarkably, no one was killed. we're going to talk to the bartender who managed to walk away unharmed and the bar's owner's son who is being hailed as a hero. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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kinyua, with the murder. let's get an update with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> there's a lot going on. it was about 32 and linden church road, a medical call there. quarryville road, we have a downed tree in colombia. -- columbia. 140, gorsuch road, flashing lights at the intersection. joppa, 152 and trimble road, watch for an accident clearing. heavy traffic, as you can see, in the white marsh area. west side and security, coming towards this is out of the traffic. 705 down to edmondson. over to you, tony. >> humidity has gone down. 73 downtown. 63 and parkton.

taneytown. -- c one decrease in taneytown. high temperatures between 80 and 85. seven-day forecast, going through the weekend, chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms. sunday looks like a nice day. high temperatures in the mid- 70's. quite weather to the beginning of next week. of next week.

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that's a terrifying moment caught on tape when an out-of-control truck smashed through the wall of a crowded bar. patrons were showered with debris. some of them pinned up against the bar. coming up, we'll talk to two men who were there, one who was working and narrowly escaped injury. the other who raced in and is being credited with saving some lives. just unbelievable video. >> people pinned underneath that truck for a time, and it's a pretty dramatic story. >> 7:30 now on a thursday morning, the last day of may, 20 2012. i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. >> "today's professionals" who have a lot of hot topics including michael bloomberg's

ambitious effort to fight obesity by banning sugary drinks over 16 ounces. we'll talk about that with "today's professionals" coming up. >> we're pretty sure donny will be here soon. and animal planet's turtle man who grabs dangerous critters with his bare hands pays us a visit. he'll be doing all the work. i understand he'll be bringing alligator snapping turtles with him. there they are right now. we'll be checking him out on the plaza. >> you will be checking hm out, right? >> i'm not getting that close to this guy or the turltss. let's begin with this frightening videotape of a truck crashing into a bar in minnesota. we'll talk to two men who were there in a moment. first savannah has details. >> one minute people were enjoying the afternoon at gordie's, but in a split second, that all changed. and as you just saw, it was all caught on tape.

>> reporter: a typical afternoon at a local bar until this happened. surveillance video inside of gordie's in little canada, minnesota, captured the terrifying moment a truck cra crashed through the wall, pinning patrons, buried in debris that toppled onto them. >> i seen a pole flying through. i thought, that's kind of strange. all of a sudden i heard a boom. and then the truck came right through the wall. >> reporter: pat, the bartender seen in the video in the baseball hat behind the bar, narrowly escaped injury simply because of where he was standing. >> it happened like that. you didn't have time to react. >> reporter: within seconds, casual conversation turned into crisis. six people including the driver were taken to the hospital. officials say two were seriously injured. according to police, the 51-year-old female driver suffered a medical condition when she hit a light pole before slamming into the building. amid the mayhem after the crash -- >> yeah, really good luck. >> reporter: -- the bar owner's son stepped into action using a

bobcat front-end loader he had in the back to help lift the truck and free the victims. most were able to stand up once freed from the rubble. >> they were dazed. they didn't know what happened. my fiancee went up to the lady pinned to the bar and was trying to help her and free the stuff away from her. >> reporter: the bar owner says he's still thinking of everyone who made it out alive. >> i just hope those people come out okay. >> well, the crash remains under investigation. and no charges have been filed against the driver. the bar's owner says he could reopen in a few days. ann, back to you. >> savannah, thanks. jim cossack whose father owns the bar helped free the victims and patrick was working as a bartender and narrowly escaped injury. gentlemen, good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> patrick, we're going to take a look at this video again. we're going to see you standing behind the bar. as we look at this, how lucky are you feeling to so narrowly

escape injury? >> it was a miracle. i couldn't believe it. unbelievable. >> was there no warning, a sound, or were you taken completely by surprise? >> well, i had moved to that side of the bar because i couldn't hear the customer talking to me. and then as i was walking, i caught a telephone pole flying through the parking lot. and then i heard a boom. and then the truck was there. and then it was total chaos. >> right. and in that chaos, jim, you happened to be at exactly the right time with exactly the right piece of equipment, as we just heard a bobcat front-end loader. can you explain, first of all, what allowed you to so quickly remember you had that equipment and also to jump into action? >> yeah, we were -- i was loading the bobcat up in the back of the parking lot. i had tried for two days to get the thing running, couldn't get it running. all of a sudden we got it running at this exact time. i was going to put it on the trailer. my fiancee had screamed and

motioned to me what was going on. we started -- we were about 100 feet from the bar when it started. i headed straight up there and pulled up behind the pickup truck that had went all the way through the wall. >> did you first check to see the people underneath who were pinned underneath all this debris? and if so, what condition were they in, and what did you do after that? >> yeah, they were -- i couldn't believe there were still people in between the truck and the bar, honestly. there was a guy inside that was helping out, charles, a friend of mine since high school. he's the one that shut the truck off inside and then came out and motioned to come on over and hook -- tried to get the bobcat bucket underneath the truck to pull it out. and it kept slipping off. so charles ran and got a strap real fast and hooked it up, and then we got it out a little bit to give them some breathing room. >> you know, there were six people who were injured and hospitalized including the driver who we understand had a medical condition.

you know, i understand that this bar, gordie's, is a neighborhood bar. so i'm guessing that perhaps one or two of you may know some of these victims. can you tell us anything about how they're doing and how you're doing in the wake of all this? you want to take this, patrick? >> well, yes. we heard a couple are still in the hospital, but some have been released. they're a little shook up, but, you know, i mean, they're alive, and that's all we can say. i mean, we're happy about that. i know them very well. i see them every day. so it was a great relief to see people walking around after that. >> well, clearly, the two of you did a great job helping people out. and jim cossack, of course, jumping into action with that bobcat front-end loader. congratulations on your efforts to help people and patrick, thank you both for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> all right. >> thank you. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> all right. thank you so much, ann.

great story. we've got some folks -- where's grove city? >> an hour north of pittsburgh. >> all right. let's check your weather. got some heat to talk about. first of all, the jet stream hits in the midsection of the country. we'll get much cooler than normal temperatures in the central plains into the mid-mississippi river valley. milder than normal in the southeast. out west, medford, oregon, 12 degrees above normal. six in fresno. warmer than usual in yuma, 112, 102 in vegas. record highs in the southwest. and then the rest of the country, it's going to be hot in the southeast. temperatures in the 90s there. 50s and 60s as you get your way up into the upper mississippi rive >> we will have a much less humid air west but it will be warm and highs will be

and that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next, a walk on the wild side with animal planet's turtle man who uses his bare hands to catch dangerous creatures. we're going to meet him and a few of his friends right after this.

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we are back now with the popular star of animal planet's show called "call of the wild man." we're going to spend time with ernie brown jr. in a moment. first, nbc's tom lamaumas got t spend time with him in the wild and find out why they call him turtle man. >> there's a lot of reality shows out there, but this one got our attention. turtle man may be the craziest person on tv because he wrestles giant snap turtles, catches angry raccoons and does it all with his bare hands. >> there he is! he's coming up! >> reporter: from beast -- >> oh, my god! >> reporter: -- to slithering surprises. >> oh! crazy! >> reporter: to a sly thief -- >> attacking the chickens. >> reporter: -- through the r f roof -- >> here we go. >> reporter: -- or in the water, turtle man always catches what

he's chasing. >> i got you! whoo! >> reporter: in the backwoods of kentucky, we found turtle man gearing up for his next adventure. >> it's been my way of life, it's been my inspiration to cheer people up with this. >> reporter: turtle man says he learned his craft because he grew up dirt poor. >> i turned 7 years old and run out of food. and uncle phillip came over and says, i'll get you all some food. and he went in the pond and brought out a snapping turtle. i was into that. >> reporter: in kentucky, turtle man's become such a celebrity, people stop in the middle of the road just to meet him. >> i think he's awesome. i really love the show. >> reporter: you see any turtles? >> yeah, we're looking for a head. see it right there? >> reporter: but it is all for tv. so are the stunts staged? we got into the pond with turtle man and found out there are no smoke and mirrors, just a lot of guts and mud. what's that over there? is that a snake? >> there's no snakes in here. too many turtles.

>> reporter: after just five minutes in the pond -- >> there he goes, he's taking off. >> reporter: -- turtle man spotted a giant snapper on the move. >> right there! >> reporter: yeah. what's that? >> grab the tail! grab the tail! he'll bite you. >> reporter: what do you do? we were happy, but when we brought the 40-pound turtle to the shore, he let our camera know he wasn't. >> i'm the turtle man. turtle reporter just got him some live action. >> reporter: even after our hunt was over, turtle man and his cameraman, craig, couldn't ignore the call of the wild. >> watch him. i don't know where he's at. whoo! two at a time! whoo! that's how you do it. on our show! "today" show, nbc. >> reporter: what are you naming them? >> matt and ann, live action. whoo!

>> and the producers of the show say matt, ann and all the animals that are captured are released back into nature preserves or into the wild. we also want to mention, we did have a paramedic on hand for the shoot. speaking of hands, i came back with ten fingers. >> congratulations to you, tom. that's a major accomplishment. i'm joined by ernie brown jr. nice to see you. you've been whooping and hollering for all the fans. >> i couldn't do it without them, you know. >> let me tell you something right now. there is no chance in the world i'm going to put my hand in that tank. i'm going to tell you that right off the bat, okay? but you will. what have you got in here? >> we've got some snapperlicious in here. >> what are these, alligator snapping turtles? >> alligator snapping turtles. yeah, they're live action. you don't want to put your hand in their mouth because they will snap it. they've got 1,000 pounds of pressure. and they could snap it off. these are alligator snapping turtles that are found in louisiana. >> your track record, how many times have you been bitten over the course of this career of

yours? >> 34 years out of 40 years. >> 34 times? >> yeah. >> in 40 years? >> yep. >> and you have all your fingers, basically, right? >> yeah, i've got a few scars. >> is that the worst you've ever been hurt? >> yeah, seven stitches right here. it cut through the bone. got bit through the head one time. >> were you kissing one of the snapping turtles? >> i was catching it and it flipped over on me and bam! caught me in the face. >> where did you come up with this battle cry of yours? >> i come up with this battle cry, every time i catch an animal. that means you accomplished your goal. it gives you your spirit back. you catch another one. >> what does live action mean? you yell that a lot. >> live action! that means you're face to face with it like this. and you don't know what's going to happen. >> you don't want to be that close to that thing, do you? >> live action! whoo hoo! that will wake him up. >> there is not enough purel in the world for me to do that. >> this is not a pet.

this is live action right here. >> so you want people to know, again, that everything you catch will eventually be released, correct? >> everything i catch gets turned back into the wildlife management areas. and they're set free. and they have a happy life. and that way the rangers protect them. >> you brought a little bit of your fun from kentucky to our plaza here in new york. >> whoo! live action! >> ernie brown jr., thanks for being here. we appreciate it. zbl and i've got some new turtle claws! i made it myself. >> you can catch "call of the wild man" on animal planet. that's sunday night. check it out. when we come back, the youngest young girl ever to compete in the national spelling bee. find out how she did right after these messages. one more call. >> whoo! livi ng w ith the pain livi of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... ...could mean living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you... ...with humira. for many adults with moderate to severe ra,... ...humira's proven to help relieve pain

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let's raise academic standards across the nation. let's get back to the head of the class. let's solve this. lori anne madison probably can as well as hundreds of other words. on wednesday the 6-year-old from northern virginia became the youngest person to compete in the national spelling bee. nbc's kristin welker has her story. kristin, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, ann. the scripps national spelling bee is the largest in the nation. and with 278 participants, the competition is fierce. but it at just 6 years of age, little lori anne madison is proving she's pretty tough, too. >> hi, lori anne. >> hi. >> reporter: lori anne madison can barely reach the microphone, but most days she towers over

her competition. >> may i have the definition, please? >> reporter: the 6-year-old is the youngest ever to compete in the scripps national spelling bee. during the first preliminary round on wednesday, she aced it. >> dirigible, d-i-r-i-g-i-b-l-e. >> reporter: lori anne earned a place on the national stage in march after beating out 21 competitors at a regional competition in her northern virginia community. >> v.a. q-u-e-r-o, vaqeuero. >> reporter: she started at 3 1/2 and told her secret. >> i read a lot. >> reporter: the second grader is homeschooled and says she's an avid reader who loves the water as much as she loves words.

>> i do swimming. i'm a good competitive swimmer. i know karate. >> reporter: even her fellow competitors say she's in a league all her own. >> it's surprising that there's a 6-year-old. >> you see kids who are half my age when i was here first. it's amazing. >> reporter: at the end of wednesday's preliminary round, the 6-year-old faced her toughest challenge yet. >> engluvies, e-n-g-l-u-v-i-e-s. >> that is incorrect. >> ingluvies is i-n-g-l-u-v-i-e-s. >> reporter: and while lori anne didn't make it to the next round, her future couldn't be brighter. she already knows what she wants to do when she grows up. >> i like astronomy and biology. so the perfect thing for me

would be astrobiology. >> reporter: pretty incredible, ann. we had to consult webster's on that last word, though, ingluvies. webster's defines it as the crop of a bird or insect. the crop is basically the esophagus. so the semifinals and finals will continue today without little lori anne, but she still has about six more years to compete. so this probably won't be the last time we hear from her. ann? >> you have said that correctly. kristin welker, thank you so much. i just love how she said how it takes to take an ent molg class. she's 6. >> i have a 6-year-old who's not getting his allowance this week. he's got to get on the ball here. >> ingluvies is in trouble. that's not the word. >> spell check. >> i know. >> i came in sixth place in the spelling bee. you asked. i'm so proud. >> back after this. [ fabric flapping in wind ]

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am jennifer franciotti. time to check on your morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> let's get you up to date. damn about wrote just past sykesville road, we have an accident and -- gambrill road, just pass sykesville wrote, with an accident and delays. murray hill road, we have a downed tree. that is definitely causing delays there. traffic all the men -- traffic alternating in both directions. brookeville road, watch for a

vehicle fire. we are looking at delays on westbound 100 parts 97. 152 at trimble road, an accident clearing. pickwick live look at traffic. -- quick live look at traffic. heavy delays towards the 895 split. 83 and ruxton road, j.f.x. and a pretty good shape towards the city. let's check the forecast with tony. >> we are off to a nice, quiet start. you will notice that when you step outside. up to seven at the airport. -- 70 at the airport. 63 in parkton. significantly cooler in the northern suburbs. mostly sunny skies, less humid, still warm, though. northwest winds at 10 to 15 mi. an hour.

scattered showers and thunderstorms, and some of those could be strong. could be light rain early on saturday. most of the weekend will bmo

8:00 now on a thursday morning. the 31st, last day of may, 2012. as we say a big hello to our crowd here in rockefeller plaza. and right now, they're listening to the music of the band perry. and it's our way of reminding you that this hit country trio and siblings will rock in our plaza tomorrow here on "today." meantime, i'm ann curry outside here on the plaza along with matt lauer and al roker. coming up -- >> yesterday we told you that our friend lenny was going to be gone for a couple weeks because he was going to have surgery. and lenny was so moved by our greeting, he climbed right off the operating table and came --

>> you canceled it? >> you had it postponed, right? >> oh, they canceled it. oh, good. okay. that means we're going to keep you here. mwah. >> anyway, coming up -- >> we missed you. >> -- "today's professionals" are here. star, donny and dr. nancy. one of the things they'll talk about today, p. diddy's son, justin, just received a scholarship to ucla to play football, based on his merits. some don't think he should accept it because his father is so wealthy. we'll get to that this morning. we'll talk about that with our professionals. we're also going to have a throwdown. we've got two major chefs who are going to be competing on our plaza, giada de laurentiis and bobby flay. esteemed panel of judges. >> both nominated. we're pitting them against each

other. >> we're going to give them a "today" emmy. that's usually a precursor just like the golden globes or the oscars. we've got two incredibly talented young people stopping by. first of all, the "american idol" runner-up jessica sanchez will be singing for us live in our studio. and kristen stewart's going to be stopping by telling us what it's like facing off against charlize theron in "snow white and the huntsman." let's go inside. natalie's on assignment. savannah guthrie's at the news desk. >> the suspect blamed for a shooting spree died overnight from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. police say 40-year-old ian stew wiki opened fire in a coffee shop where witnesses say he had been told he was no longer welcome. fourf those victims died, and another was critically wounded. officials say stawicki then killed a woman while carjacking her suv and later shot himself as officers closed in.

the family of a georgia college student ravaged by a flesh-eating bacteria is sharing their story in an exclusive "today" interview. aimee copeland is doing better than her doctors expected but still has a long road ahead. nbc's thanh truong is in augusta, georgia, this morning with more. th thanh, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. aimee copeland is still in the intensive care unit here where she's been for almost a month now, but she's now breathing on her own, able to sit up, and her most recent breakthrough, she's finally talking again. >> reporter: when aimee copeland spoke for the first time since contracting a rare and aggressive flesh-eat beiing bacteria, it was page, her big sister by just 13 months, at her side. doctors had just removed a tube from aimee's throat. >> she just said, "hello?" and so we're all, like, awesome! and she's, like, whoa. and then she said, my mind is blown. >> reporter: page says aimee's voice was strained and raspy.

but none of that mattered. >> you know, it had been the first time in what, what, about three weeks that she was able to speak and hear her own voice. >> reporter: despite aimee's unexpected progress, her family tempers their excitement with realistic expectations. after already enduring amputations to her hands, left leg and right foot, aimee will soon undergo a series of skin grafts. then a massive amount of rehab. >> she was a very strong little child. >> reporter: tomorrow will mark exactly one month since the 24-year-old grad student fell off a homemade zip line and suffered a big gash to her leg. the bacteria that infected aimee usually kills one in four patients. through it all, aimee's kept her sense of humor, cracking jokes with her family and the hospital staff. >> one of the nurses called her jalapeno. >> reporter: hot? >> yes. i guess. >> reporter: aimee's attitude may be surprising. but to her loved ones, it's exactly what they expected.

and aimee's father says she could be moved out of the icu in two to three weeks, but that is a very optimistic prediction. but as we've seen, savannah, this family and aimee are the epitome of optimism. >> an amazing spirit. thank you. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick roundup of what has you talking online. justin bieber fran frenzy had police in oslo ready to declare a state of emergency wednesday. thousands of crowded into the norwegian capital for a free outdoor performance. bieber tweeted, "for the show to happen, you must all listen to the police. we are all concerned for your safety." the show was a success and the beans biebs is now on his way to paris. these girls are going viral with "call your girlfriend." they've accompanied themselves with hand clapping and empty plastic tubs. ♪

they sound good. and the girls are just 8 and 12 years old. and the web is going wild for anne hathaway's version of "i dream to dream" in the new trailer for "les miserables." ♪ i dreamed a dream of time gone by ♪ ♪ when hope was high ♪ life worth living >> but hathaway could be overshad bowed by the period ha russell crowe wears. that hat is already showing up across the internet, amusingly if incorrect places. no, they did not wear those hats to the wedding. now back to al for a check of the weather. >> thank you so much, savannah. what's your middle school? from milwaukee? >> yeah! >> did you bring any leon's custard? >> yeah!

>> did you bring any penze's spices? they don't know what i'm talking. let's see what we've got as far as our weather. portland, oregon, news channel 8, mild, 77 degrees. we are looking at some strong storms firing up from dallas all the way up into minneapolis today. got a risk of strong storms there. beryl is moving out to sea. no big problems. some wet weather makes its way into the pacific northwest. the southwest going to be sunny and sizzling with temperatures well over 100. phoenix today getting up near tying or breaking a record. >> good morning, it will be aw pretty nice day to day with sunshine and a few clouds and the humidity will go down significantly. it will still be warm,

all this getting ready for the big bobby flay/giada de laurentiis's throwdown. coming up, we have "today's professionals." they have a lot of stuff to talk about including this new push to ban large size sugary drinks. that's coming up right after this. hey, is the table finished?

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♪ well i won't back down we're back now at 8:11 with our latest installment of "today's professionals" with star jones, donny deutsch and dr. nancy snyderman here to weigh in on the hottest issues of the day. nice to see you. >> hi, matt. >> michael bloomberg banning the sale on all sugary drinks and sodas that come in containers over 16 fluid ounces. that would be this guy right here. so these back here would be

illegal. this would clearly be illegal. this is an attempt to tackle this epidemic we've talked about, nancy, of obesity in this country. is this the way to go about it? >> a very famous doctor, dr. david lustig at uc-san francisco says that sugar is toxic and should be regulated like tobacco. it's rewiring the brain. it is not necessary for anything in the human diet. i think it's a very bold, big move, but i have no problem with it. >> star, what are the legal obstacles that he faces with this? >> well, actually, he has avoided a lot of them by doing it municipalally. you know he tried to tax soft drinks, and albany stopped him there. he doesn't have to go to the federal government for this. and so because he has really health department issues only to try to get this passed, and the health department is appointed basically by him. he has very few obstacles. >> donny, do we want local government telling us what we can and can't consume? are you comfortable with that?

>> we complain politicians aren't courageous. god bless this guy. this is no different than tobacco. we solve obesity, we solve the health care program. we've got to do something. every time you make a revolutionary move, there's going to be complaints. i applaud him. >> there's no need for this in the marketplace other than it sells. >> these people can go out and buy two of these. >> what's interesting about that, it will curb obesity in some ways because you're too lazy to get up and carry the extra soft drink. and that's why this is a good idea. >> all right. let's move on. this one, i think, got my attention. the son of p. diddy, justin, is now going to go off to college at ucla. he has been given a merit scholarship to play football and because of his academics to the tune of about $54,000. some people are saying, wait a minute. your dad, p. diddy, is one of the wealthiest guys in the music industry. this is money that the

university should put elsewhere. how do you feel about that? >> i think this kid earned it. first of all, distinction. according to the university, this is not money that comes out of a pot that would be going to financial aid. say what you want. i have a newfound respect for p. diddy. he has a 3.7 kid, an athlete. don't hate me because i'm beautiful. don't punish him because of his father. >> i know this kid. he's always been a student athlete. he's a smart kid. he's not the kind of kid that sat around and said, my dad's work so i can do "c" work. >> we're all on the same page. but what's interesting is that this is a child who's seen indulgen indulgence, over a $300,000 car for his 16th birthday. but he has a 3.75 gpa. he earns this. he's not taking away from the financial aid of other kids. you could say, though, that a really magnanimous thing to do would be to establish a scholarship in his name and free this money for another child. but nonetheless, it can't be taken away from him.

he earned it. >> just so you know, sean has given a significant amount of money for scholarships to other kids. >> and it doesn't cover his entire tuition. >> not in the least tiny bit. way to go, justin. >> let's move on. i'm going to put a picture up. i want to warn people that this may make some people uncomfortable, but that's the crux of what we're talking about. part of an upcoming best freeding awareness campaign. two women in the air force posed for these photos in their uniforms. now, this is a campaign sponsored by a private support group. the photos were not approved by the military. and some now on the base -- we're talking about fairchild air bors bforce base in washing state -- and in the public are uncomfortable that they posed that way. >> i love the photo. i'm a pro-best freeding doctor/mother. however, they used the uniform of their workplace for an ad outside. and i think they shouldn't have done it without permission. >> i have seen a lot of military

people pose in, like, calendars and all kinds of other outside entities with, you know, a little bit of the flag on their rear end when the guys want to show how many muscles they have. i've seen those kinds of ads before. >> but without permission? because that's a big issue. >> but we've never argued about it before. >> firemen. >> donny, do you think the controversy here is over the uniform, or is it over some people being just uncomfortable seeing a woman breast-feeding? >> that's what it is. >> i think to nancy's point -- because look, as far as i'm concerned, you're in the military. you've earned the right to do whatever you want. having said that, there's an endorsement. you wear that uniform, you are taking on their endorsement. i think they could have accomplished it -- the firemen have "fdny." i think that crosses the line. >> people are wigged out about breast-feeding. >> by the way, not to put words in the mouth of the military. i think if they had gone for permission, the military might have said we're proud that we have mothers in the military who

face the same issues as mothers outside the military. >> i can't imagine the military having any problem with a woman wanting to provide nutrition to their child. >> i don't know. >> you have to be careful when you wear that uniform to make any stand on anything other than what the uniform stands for. >> because you represent the organization. >> well done today, guys. >> very weird that we all agree. what's wrong with you guys today? up next, giada de laurentiis and bobby flay go toe to toe in a quicking showdown on the plaza. that's right after this. have you ever partaken in a car insurance taste test before? by taste? yes, never heard of it. well, that's what we're doing today. car insurance x has been perfected over the past 75 years. it's tasty. our second car insurance... they've not been around very long. mmmm... no good! no good? no good! so you chose geico over the other. whatever this insurance is, it's no good.

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purina puppy chow. hey son! come on over here! coach t, it's an honor. well, have you thought about the future? maybe corolla or camry. well, my mom says i need to keep my mpg up. [ laughing ] course she does... we got number 34. highway. and we got 43 over there. city. go on, check it out! i'll tell you what, checkers, you've impressed me before in the past, and you're impressing me even more now. coach is impressed. you did a good job and i like your shoes. "today's emmy cook-off." the daytime emmy nominations were announced just a few weeks ago. we noticed two very familiar names on the list for outstanding culinary program. >> giada is nominated for "giada at home," and bobby flay has been nominated for "bobby flay's

barbecue addiction." so we decided to invite tm both to the plaza and have them battle it out. and we were just told, oh, they've been nominated before. >> before. they've won before. >> i'm judging. >> but this is the first time you've been competing for "today's emmy." >> that's right. >> what exactly would winning this competition mean to you? >> i think it should be the next olympic event. i mean, let's go right to london. >> where is it? >> over there. >> who wouldn't want that on their mantel? it's got a silver spoon and all. >> that's right. it's lovely. it's gorgeous. exactly. that is what you want. an important award. >> look at al. >> oh, you're so serious! >> they're ready because that, in fact, is our judges, matt, savannah and al, they're going to be choosing. they already have the food right in front of them. and each one of the -- >> al, remember who loves you. >> your favorite dishes. let's start with you. >> start cooking, giada. >> tell us what you made for our

judges. >> i did lemon spaghetti which is sort of my hallmark dish. i did it with a surf and turf. so i covered all my bases. i make a really fast marinade, half a cup of olive oil with a little bit of soy sauce, parsley, chives, garlic and lemon zest. and i just kind of mix that all together. >> lots of flavor. >> yeah, lots of flavor, but really, we're only going to marinate for about ten minutes. i spoon a little bit of the marinade on the steak and a little bit of the marinade on the shrimp. and you can kind of do this with whatever you want. and i just -- i let them sit for about ten minutes at room temperature. i put them in a plastic baggie and seal it so you can get the marinade all over the meat. and i let that marinate. then mr. play has been so kind as to though my spaghetti. >> that's spaghetti for everybody else out there. >> spaghetti. and then i make a really fast lemon sauce. olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper. red pepper flakes. >> i love that suspect so

simple. >> lemon juice, a little bit of salt. and i am adding to this particular, this time, some arugula. i don't always add it. you don't have to. what's great about this dish, hot or sold. for the summertime, it's always a dish i make ahead of time, it can sit and add whatever kind of protein you want to it. it is very light. are you going to be able to taste this? >> i'm going to definitely taste this. you're also going to put this meat that you've been marinating, you're going to be grilling that. >> so then you basically mix this all together until the pasta has absorbed all of the lemon and the parmesan cheese and the olive oil. and it takes, like, two minutes and kind of sucks it all up. moving on. >> what about your drink? >> we're going to do that in a send. you're going to put that into this. >> no, no, i don't put it in there. i cook the shrimp. >> we're starting to run out of time. i'm going to let you do that. >> giada, i'm cooking, too, you know. >> just tell me really quickly what's in your drink.

mimosa. strawberry mimosa. >> okay, bobby, you tell us what you've made. halibut. >> we have halibut here. what i'm doing is, i'm going to make halibut with a curried corn sauce and a grilled tomato chutney. i'm going to take my grilled cherry tomatoes, nice and sweet, put them with scallions. we have halibut here. yk, for this dish, can you use any kind of white fish. we're going to use halibut. giada. >> she's trying to influence the judges, bobby. >> come on over here. okay. then we have -- we have a curried -- i took some shrimp stock and curry powder. you really want the curry powder to cook out. we're going to take some corn. and i have to say, for the last day of may, it's very, very sweet. so get out there and buy some corn. this is shrimp stock and some curry powder. then we heat this up and then puree it with a little bit of coconut milk.

a tiny bit of coconut milk. let this stir. and then you have this beautiful sauce that looks like that. giada, you want to sauce that for me? we have the halibut with the sauce and a little bit of our tomato kmchutney. i don't know where it went. and we have blackberry mojitos, everybody. very nice. >> let's all move over to the judges' table where we're going to find out, then, what our judges are thinking about what they're eating. gentlemen? >> i like bobby's drink better than giada's. >> uh-oh. >> but despite the fact that she completely hosed him on the cooking time there, i like giada's dish better. great lemony flavor. >> okay. savannah. >> as much as it pains me to agree with matt, i love this drink. it's quite strong and i feel a little woozy right now, and i like this meal. >> same thing, bobby's drink, giada's food. >> so i could be a bartender. >> exactly. >> you'll have to split this. there you go. you both won one part of it. more after this!

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am sarah caldwell. let's start with the morning commute. we are tracking an accident just past sykesville road. tricky getting through this in a section. 130 and gorsuch road, traffic lights on flash mill road, watch for an accident. 83, coming down towards mt. carmel, and route 1 and are ford road, defective lights as well.

95 is holding on to the southbound delays towards the split. we will switch over to a live view of traffic. ruxton road, looking good in contrast. tony has a check of your forecast. >> it will be a nice day. this has shifted the winds to the northwest. bringing in less humid error. humidity is 63%. 69 in columbia. 62 in emmitsburg. everybody should make it into the low 80s this afternoon. mostly sunny skies, northwest winds at 10 to 15. seven-day forecast, scattered showers and thunderstorms on friday afternoon. high-temperature near 80 degrees. rain lasting until saturday morning. then it will clear out.

mixture of sunshine and clouds on sunday. >> thank you for joining us. another update at 8:56.

"today" at the olympics coming this summer. ♪ it's 8:30 now on a thursday morning, the 31st day of may, 2012. stop and listen to the amazing voice of 16-year-old jessica sanchez. performances like that drove her to a second place finish on "american idol." and she's going to be performing for us live in our studio in just a couple of minutes. she really has an incredible voice.

by the voi, this year's "american idol" winner, phillip, was supposed to be performing. apparently he's undergoing health concerns. >> he actually put off surgery to continue the competition. and now he has to have that done. >> we wish him the best and hope to see him at a future date. meanwhile, i'm matt lauer on the plaza along with al roker, ann curry and savannah guthrie. >> a big concert here on the plaza tomorrow from the hit country group the band perry. so if you're in the area, please do come down. you are welcome to join us. and then a little bit later on, we're going to be changing gears. a lot of folks think when it's time to retire moving down to florida. jane pauley is going to introduce you to a gentleman who's found his true calling later in life as a stand-up comic, and he wants you to follow in his footsteps. also ahead, your embarrassing health questions answered including -- a lot of people feel very scared about public speaking, what to do if you kind of are overcome with

fear when it comes to public speaking. some even more embarrassing questions than that. a lot to get to. could we first say good morning to kristen stewart who is here on the plaza. she plays the fairest princess in the new movie "snow white and the huntsman." good to see you. welcome back. let's stay on the run-of-the-mill snow white path. i've seen all of them in the past. what do i need to know about this version? >> ours is a lot scarier. we have a very classic idea of snow white. we just sort of rip her heart out and stomp on it and shove it back in her chest to see if it will still beat. and it definitely does. >> so my 5-year-old? >> it depends. when i was 5, i watched a lot of really scary movies. >> it's not only scary, also, she's a tough, sword-wielding woman. she's not this, you know, girl with this little, you know, blue bird flying around her. she's not waiting for a prince

to give her a kiss. in fact, you in the role are so into it, apparently you socked the huntsman who's played by this huge guy, chris, so hard he thought you broke his nose? you punched him? you gave him a right? >> i swear i didn't mean to. >> no? >> no. you know, he got too close. >> okay. so there's a warning. everybody move back. what about the stunt work? there's some really intense stunt work. did you have to do any special training for this? >> it's funny. i thought that we were going to have to do a whole load of choreography by training, rehearsal, whatever. basically, at the end of the day, rupert, the director, kind of just put a sword in my hand and said, "don't die." it's so much cooler to watch someone instinctively slash at people. you know, you don't want to watch snow white suddenly become this skilled-- >> martial artist. >> yeah. it's so much more from the heart. she moves towards it. she doesn't wack back away from

it. it's really cool to watch her. >> ann has seen it. she says it is visually stunning. congratulations. >> really amazing movie. congratulations. >> we want to mention, this movie opens tomorrow across the country. our sister company, universal pictures. kristen, good to see you. come back and see us soon. mr. roker. let's look at our weekend starting with tomorrow. we've got a risk of strong storms along the mid-atlantic coast into the northeast with rain there. rain in the pacific northwest. heavy rain down in southern florida. saturday we've got more rain in the northeast. some morning showers giving way to some sunshine. warm to hot weather through the gulf. sizzling in the southwest. sunday, sunday! heavy rain, northern new england, showers in california, oregon area. lots of sunshine and heat through the gulf coast. sunny and mild to warm weather from the southeast, mid-atlantic on into the northeast. that's what's going on >> we will have a much less

humid air west but it will be warm and highs will as we head toward the weekend, don't forget, get the weather anytime you need, go to cable or weather.com online. now let's go to unclewillie.com in washington, d.c. hey, willie. >> we love those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. they're almost here. i love summer. love summer. carolyn counsell of henderson, nevada, 105 years. those western women are tough, live forever. loves to go traveling and also read mystery thrillers. how about that?

scare you to death. john nash of sarasota, florida, right here the circus down in venice. nice and pretty florida country. 100 years old today. worked in the newspaper business for years and likes a glass of j&b. i think i know. j&b. i know what that is. edith linkon from memphis, tennessee, home of the barbecue and ice cream, apparently. she's 107 and likes to have ice cream every single day. we have richard overton of austin, texas, where the bats live under the bridge. that's a show for you. 106. i'm not just making that up. served in world war ii and has lots of fun with his friends the whole time. and another birthday buddy, viola eshenaur from bartow, florida, 103 years old today. number one fan of the tampa bay

rays. madeleine santos of wareham, massachusetts. the cape. and she loves doing all sorts of exciting outdoor activities. that's it. that's all. and now back to our funny little friends in new york. >> thanks so much, willie. coming up next, we're going to have a live concert from "american idol" jessica sanchez. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

the "toyota concert series on today" brought to you by toyota. back now at 8:39. host ryan seacrest called this year's "american idol" finale one of the tightest races in the show's 11-year history. in the end, after 132 million voters, phillip phillips edged out 16-year-old jessica sanchez. but sanchez has a lot of reasons to celebrate after wowing the judges and fans all season long.

jessica sanchez, good morning and welcome to you. >> thank you. >> you said the fans made the right choice. why? >> because in the competition, not only mentally but physically, too. his health issues. you know, he really fought through it. and now, you know, he's working on it at this moment, but i'm really proud of him. >> you must be proud of yourself as well. >> yeah. most definitely. >> you had an incredible run. >> yeah. >> anything you would have done differently when you look back? >> not at all. i mean, there's been some bumpy moments in the competition. but i made it to the finale. so i have no regrets at all. >> you know, when i've heard you interviewed, you come across as a reserved and somewhat soft-spoken young lady. and you get there up on stage, and you become this soulful almost diva, although i think that word is overused. which is closer to the real you? >> i'm more quiet. i mean, when it comes to me just walking around, i'm really quiet. i don't really talk much. when i'm on stage, i'm a different person. like in your face singing loud.

>> you have a lot of opportunities ahead of you, young lady. >> thank you. >> you'll be working with tommy mottola, one of the great names in music. what are your dreams right now? >> right now just to make my music and just make music for my supporters that have been supporting me throughout the whole competition and just enjoy life. >> all while being a 16-year-old. what are you going to sing this morning? >> i will always love you. >> ladies and gentlemen, jessica sanchez. ♪ if i should stay ♪ i would only be in your way ♪ and i-i-i-i will always love you-u-u-u ♪

♪ i will always love you-u-u-u ♪ i hope life treats you kind ♪ and i hope you have all you've dreamed of ♪ ♪ and i wish to you joy and happiness ♪ ♪ but above all this i wish to you love ♪ ♪ and i-i-i-i will always love you-u-u-u ♪ ♪ i will always love you-u-u-u

oh, i'll always, i'll always lo-o-o-ove you ♪ ♪ i will always love you >> jessica sanchez. jessica will be back with more music a little later on. but first on a thursday morning, this is "today" on nbc. that's all the horses sir. ...and the men? all the king's men are here too sir. it doesn't look good.

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back now at 8:45 with "your life calling today." our special "today" contributor jane pauley has been working with aarp which has sponsored and produced a series of reports for us. and the lights have gone out, but jane is here this morning. >> hello? >> she can tell us what's happening in the dark. >> absolutely. where's my flashlight? move to florida, the state of retirement, a funny thing happens. he didn't find his life calling. he heard it. >> thank you. >> reporter: gibb poole was a jack-of-all-trades. >> i'm one of these guys that gets bored real easy. i went to seminary, ski instructor, i was a financial planner, i was in the army, i was in the air force. >> reporter: you sold some stuff. >> i sold vacuum cleaners door to door. i sold boats. i sold cars. i sold insurance. >> reporter: how would you fill in the blank under occupation? >> road show. >> reporter: the road led here,

mccurdy's comedy club in sarasota. i know these people. >> i'm next to paula poundstone. >> reporter: at 61 on a whim, he signed up for a comedy class. >> when i took that comedy class, wow! what if i could really do this? what if this is the one thing that i can hook myself into and just see how far i can go? ♪ >> reporter: six years later, he's really doing it. it's like you finally grew up and got serious about yourself. >> grew up, really. i'm a comedian. >> reporter: but he's very serious about it. >> we're going to have a redneck hurricane survival guide. >> reporter: constantly writing and refining material. >> maybe it's just s-t-u-p-i-d. i stay up till 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning changing things. >> reporter: his wife, jane, videotapes every show. and a computer program analyzes his performance. >> it tells me what percentage

of the time i'm on stage the audience is laughing. >> reporter: he gets lots of material just watching people at the mall. >> i went to this mall. and i'm sitting there. and i'm in this chair. one of those little padded chairs around the fountain. like day care for husbands. i see stuff there, things that just don't make any sense at all. that's how they talk in atlanta. well. a button right here. well, well, well. >> reporter: when did you get your first paycheck? >> about four years ago, $25. and i spent about $30 in gas to get there and get back. i will send you some posters. >> reporter: these days, he does better. playing clubs, colleges and corporate events. and his wife enjoys one of the perks. >> thank you. >> reporter: he teaches comedy, improv and presentation skills on cruise liners. his payment, a free ride. >> we did over 100 days of cruising last year. >> reporter: he's not getting rich, but he's suddenly getting attention. and sometimes it's a little overwhelming.

>> i look at all of this. and i feel like i wasted all these years. and it sort of hurts that i feel like it took this long, you know. i guess the hardest thing about the comedy, it's just such a brief moment in your life. everybody loves you. you love them. you walk off stage. and it's gone. this moment will never be there again. >> reporter: most people go through their lives, and they never hear the applause and the laughter at all. >> reporter: the bottom line, gibb poole is 67. and he's having the time of his life. >> i got married again because i got tired of having my own opinion. almost every show, somebody will walk up to me and go, gee, i've always wanted to try that. and i said, well, why don't you? we're the first generation because of our health care that gets a do-over. why do we want to waste that on sitting around hoping we could try something instead of going out and doing it? it amazes me. i'm going to do it until i can't remember what to say.

you guys enjoy the rest of the evening. >> formerly jack-of-all-trades gibb poole has one thing going for him. he wasn't afraid to try new things. the reality check, getting laughs is hard work. getting paid for laughs is even harder. amateurs don't get checks on the way out the door, as gibb says, unless they're doing valet parking. i hope you'll join me today for my radio internet call-in show at 10:00 a.m. eastern at aarp.org/jane. >> you get a gold star for being such a good sport. you kept on trucking when the lights went out. i want you to know that we figured out the problem. i think al -- >> i'm really sorry. i wasn't supposed to do this. sorry about that. just kidding. >> thanks for that. by the way, the great thing is somebody off camera, jane said to us, i think she was one of our producers. >> belinda. >> she said the two of you never looked better.

>> we're back with much more in a moment. but first, this is live television "today" on nbc. >> ah! ah!

time once again for the wonderfully wacky world of sports. lynn berman is here to do the honors on that. len, good morning. nice to see you. >> good morning. big month, the kentucky derby, indy 500 and the lights going

out on the "today" show. what were truly the top sports stories of the month? let's go "spanning the world." ♪ >> unbelievable! >> all righty. on your mark, get set, katie andrews at byu. and oh, my goodness. but first, the anthem, won the rowing gold in italy. wait, that's not their anthem. oh, well. 7-year-old pee-wee crawford, mt. julius, tennessee. thank you very much. then there's this. estonian basketball league. that's worth another look. that should be worth four or five points as well. what a shot. and the best double play. how about synchronized outfielding. corpus christi. they both go up and over.

and nobody got hurt. no, one of them caught it. >> okay, sorry. >> our oops of the month. one large guy. and one trampoline. >> oh, no. oh! didn't see that coming. >> bristol, tennessee. she takes out the camera. and now, nobody got hurt! thank goodness. our moves of the month in san francisco. stealing home. ooh. safe. and he wins the game! and the quebec junior hockey league. go get yes, ma'am, etienne brodeur, flop city. >> oh! >> and in rock island, illinois, the best umpire move. very nice. but you know, he's not from "naked gun." that's how you do it. the worst move, michigan state. they let sparty, the mascot, in the game and he fumbles. sparty, what's the deal with that? you know, take a seat, sparty.

our athlete of the month with her motorized toilet. jolene setting a world toilet speed record. hey, when you've got to go. right, she's flushed with pride. our fan of the month, the kid does not get the ball in texas. he's not happy. oh, my goodness. but they do toss him another baseball. so everybody loves happy endings. very nice. speaking of which, that is rare ly para rower we were talking about -- ♪ when they didn't have her national anthem, she just sang it herself. >> all right. >> that's the way to do it. >> okay. >> way to go. yeah. >> len berman. ♪ >> there you go. i didn't say it was funny. >> no, but it's nice. >> touching.

>> it came full circle. >> occasionally poignant. >> len, always good to see you. thank you very much. just ahead, answers to your most embarrassing health questions. >> but first, your local news and weather. oh, no! >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am sarah caldwell. baltimore county police make a gruesome discovery, the body of a man in a burning a pickup truck in essex. officials are looking for a man in connection with that

discovery. they believe that the victim visited a woman that the suspect had been romantically involved with it. with it. back in a minute with a check on when it comes to gardening, we're, well, inexperienced. is this right? right here, like this? ♪ turn that off! plants can smell our fear then miracle-gro expand'n gro made things a lot easier for us. it expands when you water it. and improves your soil. for big beautiful plants that grow up to three times the flowers and vegetables. guaranteed. we were so bad at this before. particularly you. [ laughs ]

everyone grows with miracle-gro. >> lots of sunshine in the forecast, humidity will be lower as well. thunderstorms back on friday.